The Inaugural ceremony of the 44th  Regional Convention commenced by Welcoming the Chief Guest Asia Area Secretary Y’s Woman Keiko Tonegawa and her husband Taro Tonegawa, by Regional Director’s wife Mrs. Mystica Seresinhe and Y’s youth Dulari Peiris by handing a bouquet of flowers and  pinning of  flowers respectively. This was  followed by lighting of floating candles by  RD Ranaraja Seresinhe,  Chief Guest, Asia Area Secretary Y’s woman Keiko Tonegwa and her husband ,   RDE Godfrey Francis, IPRD Prasantha De Silva, RS Suranganie Francis, RT V. Rajendran, PAP Rita Hettiarachi, Young ICM S.T. Thoumiyan , DG South Western, Joe Daniel,  
DG Central Eastern Ranjith Dayarathne and all the Club Presidents of Sri Lanka Region. 

The lighting of candles was followed by the  Flag Ceremony, where the club flags were carried by the respective club representatives to the call of MC and displayed throughout the Convention.  Outstanding feature was while the National flag was carried by IPRD, the Japanese flag was carried by Mr. Tonegawa. Thereafter the National Anthem  of Sri Lanka was sung which is traditional to this ceremony followed by the National Anthem of Japan.  This was followed by the Y’s Men’s Pledge and Prayer, with a moments silence observed for those of other faiths, followed by 2 minute's silence observed for deceased members and victims & the families of Easter Sunday terrorist attack. The Bible reading was done by RS Suranganie Francis followed by the traditional presentation of the Bible by RS to Regional Director Ranaraja Seresinhe.

YL Suranganie Francis of Young Moratuwa  Club was re-appointed as Convention Scribe,  while YM Milroy Manuel  of  Colombo club was appointed as the Y’s Guy.

RD Ranaraja, extended a warm welcome to all who gathered  for the 44th  Convention and said he is proud to be able to host it after the terrorist attack in Sri Lanka, on Easter Sunday on April 21st.    He said he was in two minds whether  Area Secretary could participate at this Convention due to the travel ban in their country due to the terrorist attack in Sri Lanka.  He specially, thanked  the  Area Secretary, Y’s woman Keiko Tonegawa and her husband Taro for attending the Convention in spite of the travel ban and showing their solidarity in Y’s Men International with Sri Lanka at this time. Then  he thanked all those who contributed for the success of the Convention. Finally he addressed the members and said, you chose to be a part of this organization because of our mutual passion for services to Community in worldwide. Your  passion helped us to come together and the energy we create allow us to achieve our goals, thus making the community a better place with our valued and cherished friendships, formed on a strong and common ground which makes them last for many years to come. He concluded with the Bible quote from Proverbs 3:5-6.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
                                  In all your ways submit to him and he will make your paths straight”

PAP Rita Hettiarachchi introduced the Chief Guest, Area Secretary Y’s woman Keiko Tonegawa and her husband Taro Tonegawa from Japan.  She said Area Secretary is a retired Educational Administrator and is academically and professionally qualified with a B.A. in Liberal Arts and a M.A. in English Education.
She has been a Director of Foreign languages & International Education of Saitama City for 15 yrs. & a Director of International Affairs Division of Saitama City to plan & implement measures to address the internationalization of the City administration for 13 yrs.  Currently an Asst. Language Teacher Coordinator to recruit, train and supervise 140 native English teachers in elementary & junior high schools in Saitama. Also serves as Town Coordinator of Saitama City, as the city is the venue for soccer and basketball games during  2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.

She had joined the Y’s men Organization in 1998 as a Charter member of Y’s Men Club of Kawagoe.  She had been the Club President for 2002-2004 and 2008-2010,  District Governor of Kanto Tobu District of Japan East Region.  She held the position of RSD for BF/EF/TOF and ASF in  2014 and became RD in 2016 in Japan East Region. Presently, she is the Area Secretary of  Asia Pacific Area.
Y’s woman Keiko is a member of the YMCA Saitama City since 1973 and is a Board member since 1994. She has been appointed as Board member of the NCYMCA of Japan in 2019.

Chief Guest, Area Secretary Y’s woman Keiko Tonegawa then addressed the gathering and said,it is a pleasure and honor to be here at the Regional Convention with her husband Taro. She said AP Tanaka is very busy with preparations for Area Convention in July in Sendai, Japan  and therefore unable to come and his message is already published in  the workbook.  She said  on behalf of AP she  bring greetings and best wishes from Asia Pacific Area.   She also said that she respect and admire  the  courage of RD and his team for  having  the Convention, overcoming the  devastating situation in the country.  She said although the Sri Lanka Region has few members it does not matter as you have the strength and ability  to stand out in the area.
She said Y’s Men Organization  will be celebrating 100 yrs. in 2022  and the Area is very much involved with this event trying to meet the challenges set out for it and hope Sri Lanka Region too will be a part of it.
She also said that Y’s youth Pahani was a  good ambassador for  Sri Lanka in Japan West Region when she visited Japan recently  on a STEP Programme. Also you have a young ICM amidst you, so the presence of Sri Lanka Region is quite noticeable in  the International with his contributions at IC meetings.
She also said she is here to promote Asia Area Convention  in July in Sendai Japan and encourage members to participate at the Area Convention as there is still time to register.   Finally she said she will be continuing for a 2nd term as Area Secretary and look forward to working closely with Sri Lanka Region.                                                                              
Master of Ceremonies, YM Oswald Perera   introduced the Keynote Speaker, Dr. Ruminda Herath  Gunaratne. He said Dr. Gunaratne  obtained his M.Sc. at University of London and MRCP in U.K.   Dr. Gunaratne has specialized in Neurology and presently he is attached to the Neurology unit at Colombo South Teaching Hospital at Kalubowila and mainly concentrate on the area of “Dementia” of elderly people.
In his Keynote address  Dr. Ruminda Herath Gunaratne   first thanked members of Y’s Men International for inviting him to speak at the 44th Annual Convention.  He made a Presentation on “Dementia”. This was a topic which took an interest in the members as most of them were senior citizens and  the discussions following the presentation was how to recognize the symptoms early and how it could be prevented.
   
Unlike previous years,  there was four  presentations by Y’s youth Jason Daniel of his IYC visit in 2019,  the STEP/YEEP  Student, Ms. Pahani Fernando who visited Japan West, and BF Delegate visits by YL Srimathi De Saram to Denmark in June 2017 and YL Suranganie Francis to South Korea in Sept. 2018. 
On conclusion of Business Session I,  RD Ranaraja announced the names of RDE and DGEs for Y’s year 2019/20.  RDE – YM V. Rajendran, DGE/SW- YM Milroy Manuel  and  DGE/CE - YM Ranjith Dayaratne.

Thereafter, the Incoming RD Godfrey Francis addressed the participants. Firstly he thanked God for giving him the opportunity to lead this Region for a second time and also for helping him to recover in  time for the Convention after a serious accident.  He said he joined the Y’s Men Club of Young Moratuwa in 1993, introduced by PRD Darrel Perera and served in the Club under various positions to date. He was the District Governor-South Western in 2001 and been a RSD and served in the Regional Board since 1996. He was nominated as RDE in 2016/17 .  He introduced his theme “ Come let’s pull together” and invited all to join, to move forward setting aside all differences and develop the organization where you would be proud to be a member, thereby attracting members to achieve the goal in keeping with Challenge 2022.  Concluding his address he quoted Bible Verse from Isaiah 43:18-19.     

         “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past, See, I am doing a new thing!
           Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams
           in the wasteland”

RD Ranaraja Seresinhe  in  his Valedictory address said that he is satisfied with the outcome of the results of Y’s year 2018/19 with peaceful Board meetings and excellent time management. All the Regional calendar activities were carried out.  Happy to mention that National General Secretary of YMCA attended a few Board meetings which was a noticeable change.  He said his primary objective was to increase the membership. Major issues being the  aging membership and Rupee depreciation on international currencies for payment  of International dues.
He first thanked his own club Y’s Men club of Young Moratuwa for their monitory contribution and for the member participation at every Y’s event.  The club members attended as a team in numbers for other club activities to motivate them and said it is the Y’s Men spirit. 

Thereafter, he thanked  each and every club in the region, specially mentioning the good work carried out by each club during his term. Special mention was made of YM V. Ariyaratnam  of Wellawatte club and applauded him for increasing the members to 15 from 03 as promised, before his year end.  Also, special mention was made of YL Sugi Thevabalasingham, who was instrumental in Chartering  the new club of West Colombo. Then he thanked all the Board members individually  for their services and support, for their encouraging words which enabled him to complete the Y’s Year successfully.  Finally, he thanked the members for their participation, and specially thanked his wife Mystica for supporting him in his Y’s work throughout the year.